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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. rash — a series
  12. tube — the underground
  13. rest — what's left
  14. sharp — clever
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bat — the animal
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tube — a container
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com